Being Glinda

My mother has wanted for years to make me a Glinda the Good Witch costume from The Wizard of Oz movie. After I dressed up as Sleeping Beauty for Comic Con last year, she brought the idea up again. I'm not as big a fan of the movie as Mom is, but I loved being a pretty princess for a day, so I said if she wanted to make the costume, I would wear it every chance I got. 

Six months ago, Mom called me out of the blue and told me she had a coupon for fabric, so we should pick a pattern. She's been working like a fiend ever since. It's been fun to see her progress and her excitement as it's all come together. She finished the gown and the wand the Sunday before Salt Lake Comic Con was scheduled to begin. She had a difficult time figuring out what material to use for the crown. She'd worked so hard on the costume, I hated to think it would be spoiled by an iffy crown. It needed to last through the day even with me taking it off for panels (since I wasn't about to sit in the back row for every one). She tried a thin plastic, and it looked lovely when I put it on, but the next morning -- the day before the Con -- it had cracked on both sides. I nearly started crying when I called to tell her, but she philosophically said, "We knew it was a possibility" and found another solution. She created it and a backup in less than a day. The new crown is flexible and looks beautiful. 

The original crown - RIP

I'd made a point of not telling too many people beforehand what my mom was doing; I was a little afraid that people would steal the idea if I gave them too much time. But a few days before, my Con-buddy Theresa asked if she should put together an Elphaba/Wicked Witch of the West costume so we could walk around together. I told her it was up to her, though it would be fun to walk around dressed up together. She had a witch costume already, so it was just a matter of finding a wig and some green make-up. The result was perfect -- she looked so good!

It was quite the departure for Theresa to grimace and growl in photos.
She has one of the prettiest -- and most ready -- smiles in the world. 

We planned to cosplay together on Thursday and Friday. I thought that little girls would be excited about the pretty princess, and that maybe some older folks would think our costumes cool. The book is, like, a century old, the movie is 76 years old, and even Wicked opened on Broadway about 12 years ago. It's not new.

I was not prepared for the reaction from the public.

I was even less prepared for how much people responded to Theresa and I together. We had our photo taken at least 10 times while waiting in line to get inside the Con, and that doesn't count the people who were piggy-backing on the op. We could barely go five feet without a photo request. Sometimes they wanted a photo just of us, but we preferred to include others with us, mostly because they were so delighted. It took a while to figure out our poses (something we should have considered) but I don't think we embarrassed ourselves too much. Older folks and little kids gushed about the movie, and teenagers geeked out over Wicked. Many people took photos for sisters, dads, sons and daughters. We never once said "No," to a request for a photo. After all, "We didn't dress this way to be ignored."

Several people said they had seen wicked witches before, but I was the first Glinda. They couldn't get over how much I look like Billie Burke (one lady said I could be her daughter). Good call, Mom!

Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz

Even more unexpected was the media attention. We were interviewed by a Gephardt guy (though our segment didn't air), filmed for a promo with KJZZ ("Whether you're a good witch or a bad witch"), photographed by the Deseret News (which ended up in the paper and on the website and then got picked up by KSL) and at least 5 official Comic Con photographers, and were embraced wholeheartedly by the cosplay community. Wow! Legit!

Deseret News/KSL photo

The lady from KJZZ
(Can you see me in the camera monitor?)

We asked every Dorothy we saw for a photo (there weren't very many). There was a teeny-tiny toddler who was afraid to let us weirdos hold her, so her cosplaying dad stood with us (I should have asked for a photo of my own of her, darn it).

The only photo I have of this Dorothy smiling. After several shots of her straight-faced,
her dad said, "Try to look less enthused" and we all laughed.

I always gave my mom all the credit for my costume and all the details, and Theresa was thrilled to claim her own. It was so fun playing with her all day. She really got into character, and, yes, we did break out into song once or twice. We had to laugh when fans of the musical would ask, "Yeah, but can you sing?" Pfffft! Don't get  us started (though Theresa sings the higher part and I love the harmony.) On the second day, we realized that this was probably our fifteen minutes of fame. We enjoyed it and took full advantage of all the random things that happened.

For example:

• While walking around by myself, two teenage girls approached me to ask who I was. Apparently they had a bet going on. One thought I was Glinda, and the other thought I was the fairy from Pinocchio. She forgot that Pinocchio's fairy is the Blue Fairy. Otherwise, I can kind of see it.

• Another time while walking alone, a young lady and her boyfriend dressed as Anna and Hans from Frozen came up to ask if the Wicked Witch was with me. Sounded like she'd seen us earlier in the day. Several people had asked for photos while I was alone, so I waited for her to ask. But when I said the other Witch was elsewhere, Anna and Hans walked away. Rude -- hahahaha!
• I stopped to talk with a friend and her daughter right outside of the Kid Con area... and got stuck for about half an hour because a ton of little girls and boys wanted photos with me. I missed the panel I was trying to get to. Whoops!

• We walked past several green screen booths, and one of the ladies pulled Theresa in because she wanted to see what it looked like when the cosplayer had green makeup on. The result was fantastic. I mentioned that Theresa has a great smile, right?

• At another booth, the workers gave us weapons -- a lightsaber for Theresa and a nerf gun for me -- and took some photos. The epic battle of North v West. It was hilarious. They told us they'd put it on a t-shirt. I need to get one.
• Several people, while Theresa and I were together, expressed sympathy with her and antagonism to me. Ouch! It's hard to be this pretty and popular ;)

• Speaking of pretty, a Captain Picard cosplayer approached me to clarify my meaning when I asked Dorothy, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" Before he could continue, I said, "I know where you're going with this, because the next thing I said was, 'Only bad witches are ugly,' right?" Yep, he was offended that I basically called Dorothy ugly. I responded that I didn't say that bad witches couldn't be pretty. Of course Dorothy is pretty. But she'd ALSO just killed someone by dropping a house on her. That's not exactly a nice thing to do. So I had to make sure. I agreed that my choice of words was poor but pointed out that it was a stressful situation. Captain Picard looked convinced and impressed by my argument, so he thanked me and left it at that. I could have added that bad witches are ugly because true wickedness comes from the inside out and eventually shows in your face and demeanor, but it didn't seem necessary at the time. I was proud that I'd thought about that ahead of time and had a ready answer. Hooray for a literary and analytical background! Not every girl can say she went head-to-head with Captain Picard in a logic battle and came out the victor. Glinda FTW!!

In conclusion I learned two lessons about cosplay this year, especially if you're hoping that people ask for your photograph:

1. Wear something beloved (and well-made)
2. Coordinate costumes with one or more people and walk around together (plus, it's much more fun to share fame)

I loved getting to show off my mom's hard work and goofing off with one of my favorite people two days in a row. I'm excited to wear the costume again for Halloween parties, and FanX, and any other occasion come across. The only downside is that it sheds glitter like you wouldn't believe (it's still all over my car), so I probably won't be wearing it to just sit around the house and read. I have a few other princessy gowns I can wear for that ;)

And, just for fun, a photo of me at age five or six as the Wicked Witch of the West. My mom made this costume, too. She is amazing :)

A recap of my Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 experience.

A "Popular" Play

I got to see Wicked last night and it was wonderful! I decided to drive downtown a bit early so I could find a somewhat nearby parking space and grab some dinner before the play. Of course, everyone else had the same idea, so the wait at the Olive Garden was ridiculous. I ended up grabbing some minestrone salad and soup to go and just eating it outside the restaurant. It was such a lovely, warm, breezy day I was grateful to spend a few minutes in it! I ended up not eating the salad which meant I had to walk it back to my car. That's okay; it was another excuse to stay outside as long as possible.

Since I didn't want to have to stop at home between work and the play, I wore my dress and pretty new peep-toe shoes all day. This meant that walking back to the car with my leftovers was a bit torturous as I was starting to get blisters from the new shoes, but it was worth it for the leftovers. Besides, the shoes make me strut a little, and I love feeling all dressed up and classy! I just don't understand why someone would pay $90 for a ticket to a play, and then wear ratty jeans and flip-flops. I guess I'm a bit of a snob. Nice pants and flip-flops maybe, but jeans and a t-shirt? Really? We're not tourists in New York and seeing a show at the end of a long day of travel (though if I have the option I personally like to go back to the hotel and change for the show anyway). If you're not going to dress up for an anticipated event like this, what in the world would you dress up for?


As luck would have it, Elisha and her parents were there, too. Their seats were a couple of rows behind mine, but Elisha came over and chatted with me until the patrons with the tickets next to me showed up. It was nice to have the illusion of sharing the play with someone I know! I hope you enjoyed it, too, Sister!

As soon as the house lights dimmed -- even before the orchestra started -- everyone started cheering. This is a show where I really believe all of the elements -- spectacle, music, and story -- all blend together. No one aspect is more important than any other (as opposed to, say, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, which is another show I love and has gorgeous music and spectacle but is weak on character development). I admit, my eyes teared up every time anyone started singing! The costumes were gorgeous, the dancing was effortless, the stagehands and lighting crew were fantastic -- the whole production was just flawless. Elphaba's voice was powerful and her chemistry with Fiyero palpable -- man, was he handsome! My favorite was Galinda -- she was hysterical! I saw the actress, Katie Rose Clarke, in The Light in the Piazza on Broadway a few years ago and she was great there too. Her antics during the song "Popular" and the scene surrounding it were my favorite part of the show. I want to be like her! I wished I had been able to get tickets for all of my loved ones so they could share the experience. I almost wished I hadn't seen it before so the ending could be a surprise once again -- I am always delighted to see how it all comes together. I am pretty stingy with standing ovations, but I was happy to give one to this touring production of Wicked. Oh, how I love this play!

Now that the experience is over, I'm disappointed that I don't have it to look forward to anymore! The result was totally worth the aggravation I suffered on Halloween. It was a lovely, long six months of anticipation.

I need to plan something else to agonize over and look forward to...

One Ticket

My sister-in-law Lindsey and my dear friend Michelle are both dying to see the musical Wicked. I recieved an email from my bank back in September telling me that I could get advanced tickets on Halloween. So, I talked to my brother Adam, and he agreed to reimburse me for tickets for him and Lindsey if I could get them. Lindsey's birthday is the day after Halloween -- how cool would it be for Adam to surprise her with tickets to a play she so very much wanted to see? I have seen the play twice and absolutely loved it, but since I hadn't mentioned the possibility of tickets to Michelle, I would have been perfectly content to just get two tickets for my brother and sister-in-law and call it a day.

So, I got the code for the advance ticket sales. I was supposed to call the box office or go online at 10am, but the email didn't say whether it was Eastern or Mountain time. I set my alarm for 7:50am and was out of bed and online at home by 8am. When I logged onto the Website, I realized it was ArtTix which doesn't open until 10.

As I mentioned, this was Halloween day. My fellow Doc Team members and I had discussed dressing up for work, and I decided to go for broke and wear my Sleeping Beauty costume. My mother made it for me 10 years ago and it is awesome! It was slightly annoying wearing that poufy petticoat at my desk, but I always feel pretty when I wear it so it was totally worth it.

Unfortunately, ArtTix had no idea just how many people in Salt Lake belong to my bank, and how many of those people and their friends would want tickets to this play. I admit I had no idea either, and had somehow thought that logging in and purchasing 4 tickets would be the work of half an hour. Instead, I spent the next FOUR HOURS getting more and more frustrated by the Website. That thing ran slow and crashed a LOT. It was the most frustrating thing I'd ever been a part of. Any time I FINALLY accessed the page where it said specific seats were available and I had 10 minutes to purchase them before they were released back to the public, I would click the Purchase button... and then the system would take 20 minutes to load, effectively loosing my tickets. And the phone lines were continuously busy.

About 2pm, the site went down for good, and they displayed a notice stating I could go to the Rose Wagner Theatre or Capitol Theatre and buy tickets from the Box Office. What the what?!!! If I'd known that had been an option, I would have been there at 10am. I decided to just call it a personal day, and drove downtown praying I could still get tickets. My manager and teammates were very supportive. But then, can anyone say "no" to Princess Aurora?

Picture this: a red sedan parks on the street on 3rd South and Main. A blonde girl in a blue Sleeping Beauty costume complete with gold-colored necklace, sequined tiara, and freakishly poufy slip steps out and feeds money into the meter. This girl then proceeds to RUN down the street to the Capitol Theatre and get in a surprisingly short line of about 20 people, a couple of whom do double-takes when seeing her out of the corner of their eyes. Her heart sinks as an usher tells her and the others in line that at this point (about 3pm), the only tickets available are either single tickets during the week, or pairs on Sunday. When I reached the ticket booth and asked about availability, I discovered that the ushers had been correct. I left a message for Adam asking if he'd be interested in Sunday tickets, but suspected he wouldn't, so I didn't get them any. (He called back later and confirmed I was right.)

I bought myself a ticket. As stated in the first paragraph, I would have been fine not going, but after all I'd been through, there was NO WAY I was leaving empty-handed. The nice thing about just getting the one ticket was that I got a pretty good seat!

Since I was in costume and I had nothing better to do at three-thirty in the afternoon, I wandered around downtown for a little while after purchasing my ticket. It was pretty fun seeing all the little kids freak out with excitement when they saw me, and the adults smile as if saying "Oh you!" and the teenage boys ride their bikes past and yell "Hey Cinderella!"... well, a princess is a princess. I may have to do it again next Halloween...

The story continues:

Just for fun, earlier this week, I decided to check online to see if any tickets had become available. To my surprise, ArtTix said there were some seats, but I'd have to call in. So, I asked Michelle if, if I could exchange my ticket or get another next to me, she'd be willing to go. She could not say "yes" fast enough. I even found a buyer for my single ticket if I was able to get two.

Of course, when I called, the person on the phone said there were no tickets left. When I helpfully told her to make sure the Website was updated so more stupid people like me didn't call, she became really rude and kept repeating "We are sold out. We are sold out!" Yeah, I got that. But it's confusing and mean to get people's hopes up by saying on the stupid Website there are tickets when there aren't any!

So I got the crappy job to tell Michelle and the other buyer that I couldn't get them tickets. I feel like a terrible friend for getting their hopes up. I should have checked verbally for ticket availability first.

Anyhow, that's why I only have one ticket. I'm a little bummed that I won't get to share the experience with someone. Guess next time I know I can buy my ticket at the box office and save myself a bunch of trouble!

... But in calling the box office I realized how excited I am to go! I'm not indifferent. My ticket is for this coming Tuesday and I cannot wait! It's weird to think I've had it stuck to my fridge for the last 6 months. I usually don't plan that far in advance, and it's now feeling real! I get to see Wicked again in four days! Hooray!